The Rockometer: S/T by Heavy Blanket

Maybe you were listening to an old Dinosaur, Jr jam like “Sludgefeast,”“The Wagon,” or “Out There” and you thought to yourself, “Man, J Mascis is the greatest shredder ever. What if he put out an album of just guitar solos?” Well, with Heavy Blanket, you get that album of all J Mascis all the time, plus a little bass and drums. And yes, it is some magnificent shredding, and you can pick your favorite comparison from the following:

* A six stack of Marshall Amps like a gas guzzling, American muscle car climbing and swerving through the hills of the PA turnpike
* Field recordings of jumbo jets, remixed
* Chainsaws and wood chippers chipping chainsaws
* Lions eating lions for dinner
* Neil Young
* Grunge

But, you know what all these songs that sound like lions eating lions for dinner could use? A song. For as mighty as J Mascis is with a six-string in hand, the power of those riffs like field recordings of jumbo jets, remixed, is lost when that’s all you get. His sound is simply too huge, too overwhelming, for an album blasted out of the blues jam mold to hold. 5 out of 10 on The Rockometer

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